Tooro Botanical Gardens

Located a few minutes away from the Central Business District of Fort Portal city you find Tooro Botanical Gardens, one of the main attractions in the city and a centre for conservation and research in western Uganda. Tooro Botanical Gardens is a community run botanical garden that was founded in 2001 with the main goal of preserving indigenous trees and plants that are threatened in western Uganda and other parts of the country. The botanical gardens are well-maintained and have been a great contributor to scientific research, ecological restoration, conservation and education. At Tooro Botanical Gardens you will find a research office building which serves as a centre for education and has welcomed students, researchers and nature enthusiasts over the years.

Tooro Botanical Gardens covers an area of 100 acres and within these acres you find trees, plants, a tree nursery (largest indigenous tree nursery in Uganda), a seasonal swamp which attracts water birds, a reception building, a research office and a beautiful small compound with flowers surrounded by trees. The gardens are a great stop while on safari in Uganda especially for birders and nature lovers who would like to take a stroll in the botanical gardens. Tooro Botanical Gardens is centrally located and easy to connect to from Fort Portal main town, one can simply walk or take a 5 minute drive to the botanical gardens.

The botanical gardens have a number of trails that one can explore, one main trail starts just below the reception area and ends at the nursery bed with the Fort Portal – Kampala highway just ahead. The other trails include the side trails that branch off from the main trail and these are usually used by birders and researchers. For a better experience of Tooro Botanical Gardens one would be better off going with a site guide who takes you through the indigenous trees, plants and their uses and the work that the botanical garden is doing in conservation.

Things to do at Tooro Botanical Gardens (TBG)

Bird watching – Birding Tooro Botanical Gardens is one of the top activities done at the gardens and is a great place to bird while in Fort Portal as over 237 species have been recorded at the botanical gardens. With your guide you bird along the main trail, the side trails and then bird around the seasonal swamp for a chance of looking out for water birds and other birds that like to forage near water sources. The most sought after birds at Tooro Botanical Gardens are the Northern Brown-throated Weaver, White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher and Northern Masked-Weaver.

Other birds at Tooro Botanical Gardens that you look out for include Olive-bellied Sunbird, Reed Cormorant, Honeyguide Greenbul, Singing Cisticola, Gray-capped Warbler, Northern Fiscal, Chubb’s Cisticola, White-chinned Prinia, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Luhder’s Bushrike, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Northern Puffback, African Paradide-Flycatcher, Gray-backed Fiscal, Mackinnon’s Shrike, African Blue Flycatcher, Green Crombec, Ross’s Turaco, White-headed Sawwing, Angola Swallow, Toro Olive-Greenbul, Green White-eye, Purple-headed Starling, White-browed Robin-Chat, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Bronze Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Grosbeak Weaver, Tambourine Dove, Red-eyed Dove, African Green-Pigeon, Village Weaver, Baglafecht Weaver, Black-and-white Mannikin, Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Black-crowned Waxbill, Purple Heron, Red-billed Firefinch and Blue-throated Brown Sunbird among others. The botanical gardens offer opportunities to tick off some species off your list while on safari.

Nature Walks – Nature walks at Tooro Botanical Gardens are rewarding for nature lovers as you spend time walking through the gardens, learning about indigenous tree and plants. Some of the plants are medicinal so you get to learn more on their uses and how they are used as medicine. Over 117 indigenous trees are found at the botanical gardens and a nature walk is a great way to learn about the indigenous trees, their local names in “Rutooro” which is the local language for the people of Kabarole district where the gardens are situated and know more on the importance of restoring them. The nature walks are an immersive way to experience the botanical gardens and can take about 1 or 2 hours depending on your interests.

Research and education – The Tooro Botanical Gardens can be used for research purposes where researchers with interest in plants and indigenous trees can visit and conduct their research at the gardens. The botanical gardens are also used for education purposes by schools that organize study trips for students to learn practically about trees, medicinal plants and other plant life. Tooro Botanical Gardens is also one of the sites used for Bird Population Monitoring, the most recent monitoring at the site happened on 20^th January, 2025. The data collected during Bird Population Monitoring is fed into the International Common Birds Monitoring Database and this data can be used by schemes like the Global Wild Birds Indicator and African Wild Birds Indicator to inform conservation actions both regionally and globally. This scheme is helpful as it monitors common species that can sometimes be put to the back end as the focus is usually on globally threatened species. Bird Population Monitoring provides information on birds in an area, changing eco-systems and also creates awareness on the conservation of birds.

Partners of Tooro Botanical Gardens (TBG)

In order to work towards bio-diversity conservation Tooro Botanical Gardens partners with various organizations and local government to achieve their goals. The partner entities include Ministry of Water and Environment, National Forestry Authority (NFA), Botanic Gardens Conservation International and Fondation Franklinia. TBG also works with the community and has set up indigenous tree nurseries in areas like Mbale district and Ibanda district as well as supplying tree species to the community for planting which furthers ecological restoration.